Will the US-Iran peace deal last? Washington and Tehran trade new strikes after ship attack in Hormuz | Best Update | Today’s news
More than a week after the US and Iran signed a 14-point memorandum of understanding (MoU) to end the war, new tensions have emerged between Washington and Tehran.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Saturday (local time) that it had targeted US military positions in the region in retaliation for a new US strike against the Islamic Republic.
Earlier on Friday, the US military struck Iran in response to a drone strike that targeted a cargo ship near the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday (local time). The incident represents the first major challenge to an interim agreement reached last week in which the two nations agreed to work to end months of conflict and restore access to the strategically important waterway, the AP reported.
US-Iran trade strikes put fresh pressure on truce: Best update
1. US Central Command said on Friday that US strikes against Iran’s missile and drone depots and coastal radar sites were in response to “unauthorized aggression against merchant shipping by Iranian forces” in “clear violation of the ceasefire.” It described the operation as “a powerful response to yesterday’s attack on a commercial ship passing through the Strait of Hormuz”.
2. US President Donald Trump said the drone attack on the cargo ship violated the ceasefire. The strikes came shortly after Trump told reporters, “You’re going to find out,” when asked if the US would respond. He added: “I don’t like that they shot yesterday, four actually.” Trump, who was at the White House when he made the remarks, said of Iran: “They’re a little different,” when asked why there would be a strike, insisting that talks with Tehran were going well.
3. Trump’s remarks were echoed by Vice President JD Vance, who said in a social media post that the Islamic Republic should “pick up the phone” if there are disagreements over the ceasefire agreement. However, he added: “But violence will be met with violence.”
4. Responding to Trump on social media, Ebrahim Azizi, who heads Iran’s parliament’s national security committee, said the Strait of Hormuz is controlled by Iran and that Washington should respect the rules and “must not mistake control for escalation.” Azizi went on to say that it was not a ceasefire violation but rather a ceasefire management.
5. Another Iranian official, Ibrahim al-Fiqar, the official military spokesman for Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Command, the operational command center that coordinates the IRGC and the regular Iranian army, said Tehran’s response to US strikes this time would be “unprecedented.” In a series of posts on X, he said: “We confirm that this aggression will not go unanswered, and we will choose an appropriate time and place. We warn that any further act of folly will be met with a strong response that will shatter the illusions of the aggressors in the region.”
Al-Fiqar added, “No retreat… Our response will shake the earth to its core and erase your military presence as if it never existed. When the three numbers match tonight, the flow will stop and the silence will turn into a storm. There will be nothing to say, only what will be seen. No summons and no options. This is an unprecedented night in which the reaction to the gunpowder in your attack will be swift and decisive.”
6. The aggression from both Washington and Tehran comes at a fragile time as both sides continue to negotiate a permanent end to the war. The Islamic Republic has increasingly challenged the region and the US over control of the Strait of Hormuz, despite signing an interim agreement.
A memorandum of understanding signed by Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on June 17 said the Islamic Republic would reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway through which a fifth of the world’s oil was transported. However, Hormuz remains a sticking point as Iran wants to collect tolls for ships passing through and maintain its choke point that can be used in the future, while the US wants Tehran to charge no fees for commercial vessels passing through.
7. The attack on the cargo ship came as the United Nations’ maritime agency, the International Maritime Organization (IMO), launched an evacuation operation this week to move stranded vessels out of the strait by an alternative route, staying near Oman’s coast instead of sailing through the central channel. After the attack, the IMO suspended evacuations and announced on Friday that they would not resume until assurances were provided that no other ships would be targeted.
It remains to be seen whether the interim agreement will remain in place or whether the two sides will strike again.
